Labs

I got my 3 month labs and have a couple that I'm not sure about.
My folate is 13.5 and I take 800 of folic acid plus the folic acid in my MVIs. Should this be higher.
Ferritin is 28.8. I was told to start vitron-c to increase this.
Vitamin D is 40. I already take 2000 extra above the 1000 in my calcium and the 800 in my MVIs. Should I increase the 2000 to 4000.
Vitamin B12 was 1216
Magnesium was 1.6
Vitamin B1 was 138
My protein was 7.0
Albumin was 4.0


The vitamins I currently take are:
2 centrum chewables
vitamin D 2000IU daily
Vitamin B12 2500 every other day sublingual
biotin 2000 daily
Magnesium 250 daily
Folic acid 800 daily
calcium 1200-1500 daily
B complex daily


Steph

Your folate is fine.  Your B12 is excellent.  Your protein is great.

Your ferritin is low, as you know.  But you're starting iron, so that's good.

Your D is very low.  According to the Linus Pauling Institute, we need it to be at least 80.  You can increase your D3 to 4000 IU.  I would probably increase it more than that myself, but I tend to be kind of aggressive with some vitamins, including vitamin D.  I did a survery here on OH a while back and there was only one post op that was able to maintain a level of at least 80 on less than 5000 IU a day.  Most people needed 10,000 IU a day or more to maintain a good level.

 i was gonna send you a pm but i'll just write it here. just got labs back from the cardiologist who ran the basic tests to make sure certain things were okay with the meds i'm on and protein counts were on there. my protein total was 6.6 which looking at the asmbs requirements is good, but the albumin is 3.8 which is a little low. are there certain things i should focus on to bring that up? or is that slight bit low okay?

I would just up your protein a bit.  Ideally, the total protein level would be at least 7.0.

your folate could be higher but you have to be careful when you take more than 800mcg of folic acid -it masks vitamin B12 deficiency - your folate is okay but go higher by taking 1200mcg but then the problem is that when you see your B12 level, it will be higher than it really is, so the only true way to diagnose a B12 deficiency with in that case is to do another Blood test called MMA

for your ferritin which is  low  - I dont recommend that iron - I looked that up once for someone and I believe it didnt' have enough vitamin C in it - you need 200mg of vitamin C for every 30mg of iron.  You are best off getting tender irons from vitalady.com they are carbonyl iron which is the iron that you want and they have all the vitamin C you want  They aer 60mg per capsule so with a ferritin as low as yours, you could take 3 of the tenders at bedtime atleast 2-4 hours away from your calcium and thyroid medication

Your D is way too low but your dose is basically nothing.  Increasing to 4000 wont really do anything.  You can't count the D in the calcium or multi they are wrong vitamin D- you need dry vitamin D- you can get it at vitalady.com in either 5,000 unit capsules or 50,000 unit capsules  - take 2 of the 5,000 unit capsules daily or take a 50,000 unit - once per week and see how you do and then you can increase after that.
 
your b12 is great

your magnesium is too low and it is very rare for magnesium to show up low - I would take a magnesium citrate tablet 250mg with each calcium dose - which should be 1500-2000mg per day in 3-4 daily doses - 1200 isn't nearly enough

My folate is low because I am on Methotrexate, so the Methotrexate inhibits the absorption of folic acid. I am increasing my folic acid to 1600 under the order of my physician/dietician.  
As far as my iron goes, I have some of the iron from Bariatric advantage. It has 60 mg of the ferronyl and 250 mg of Vitamin C, so better than the Vitron-C and better than nothing at all.  I will take one per day as ordered.
3 months ago, my vitamin D was only 30 and we increased my Vitamin D from 1000 up to 2000 and my level went up to 40 which i feel is a big jump for only increasing 1000. That is why for now we are only increasing up to 4000.   
As far as my calcium, I take a minimum of 1200 mg of calcium lactate, plus I get at least 3 servings of dairy products daily. I use almond milk in my shakes (8-12oz each) and it has 75% of daily requirements for calcium in 1 cup, so I figure even if I absorb less than half of it I still should be fine.  

I am sorry but I didnt know you are on Methotrexate.  So, yes by all means you need the folic acid but just be aware to watch out for the B12 levels they are going to read higher than they really are  - you need to ask for a MMA level to really know if you are okay with B12

The bariatric advantage is good iron but not enough vitamin C if you want to absorb - so just make sure you get some extra vitamin C - you need 400mg of vitamin C for those irons.  It is easier to say better than none at all provided you can absorb it - many have to take 5 of the 60mg ones and still can't absorb ita if there isnt' the right about of vitamin C. 

For the vitamin D - yes 30 to 40 is a jump but not nearly enough if you want to be protected from osteoporosis and if you arent' getting in enough calcium to boot, you are only putting yourself at risk.  You need calcium citrate.  You dont absorb the calcium from your food  = if you do, that is extra but when the bariatric association gives the numbers of 1500-2000mg of calcium citrate per day that is in supplements not including food.

we are only trying to help you = that is what this site is for - with all our years of experience to help the newbies out or others further out that need some help.

I do appreciate the information. I apologize if I came across wrong. I am just frustrated that I have to add MORE vitamins than I already take. I have trouble the way it is getting everything in (vitamins, food, water, exercise). Ugh. It has to get easier sometime soon especially since I was told last week to either increase my calories or decrease my workouts.Thanks again.

I know it is hard but these are all things we have to do for the rest of our lives, so the sooner you get used to it the better because if you dont do it now you can have problems that can't be reversed like osteoporosis - I already have osteopenia and many others have osteoporosis - I have been really good about taking my supplements but I had genetics against me.

Increasing your calories should be a good thing and will actually help you lose weight = it helps you increase your metabolism and eliminates stalls